Tag Archives: American Heart Association

Mission Statement

The American Heart Association and American Stroke Association’s mission is to be a relentless force for a world of longer, healthier lives.

Wish List

Sponsors and volunteers for upcoming events

Financial contributions to support research

Gift cards

Auction items

Survivor stories

Chairs for events

Heart Walk teams

Red yarn for the Little Hats, Big Hearts project

Upcoming Events

Go Red for Women ExpoSept. 25, 2018

Omaha Heart BallFeb. 9, 2019

Workplace Health SymposiumFeb. 20, 2019

Omaha-Council Bluffs Heart WalkMay 2019

Background

The American Heart Association is the nation’s oldest and largest voluntary organization dedicated to fighting heart disease. Founded by six cardiologists in 1924, the organization now includes more than 22.5 million volunteers and supporters. They fund innovative research, fight for stronger public health policies, and provide critical tools and information to save and improve lives.

Brag Lines

In Nebraska in the last five years alone, the AHA has funded over $4 million in new research. Nationwide, AHA invests almost $128.5 million a year ($3.5 billion since 1949) in heart research that has led to recent breakthroughs such as clot-busting drugs and drug-eluting stents. Health care providers learn about medical advances and new treatment guidelines though journals, conferences, and online courses.

In the 11-state Midwest affiliate, AHA is currently supporting 402 multi-year studies at a cost of $70,327,574.

Pay it Forward

The American Heart Association wants everyone to know that cardiovascular diseases are largely preventable. Risks can be lowered by adhering to what they call Life’s Simple 7: not smoking, being physically active, maintaining a healthy body weight, eating a healthy diet, controlling blood pressure, controlling cholesterol, and controlling blood sugar. People can assess their cardiovascular health by visiting MyLifeCheck.org and answering a few questions.

Featured Event:Feb. 10 (7-9 p.m.)Dancing With the Omaha Stars
Ralston Arenadancingwiththeomahastars.com
It’s back! Omaha stars Tony Veland, Chinh Doan, Jared Robinson, Miss Omaha, and others will strut their stuff in front of a panel of judges that includes Tom Osbourne, Mayor Jean Stothert, and Todd Schmaderer. While the Mirror Ball goes to the dancer who scores the highest, the other revered trophy in this contest is the Bella Award, given to the star who raises the most money for TeamMates.

According to the American Heart Association (AHA), for every minute a cardiac arrest victim goes without life-saving CPR and defibrillation, the chances of survival decreases 7 to 10 percent. Learning the basics of CPR is especially vital for seniors.

The statistics are frightening: About 92 percent of sudden cardiac arrest victims die before reaching the hospital. “But if more people knew CPR, more lives could be saved,” says Jennifer Redmond, executive director of the AHA. “Immediate CPR can double, or even triple, a victim’s chance of survival. What most people don’t realize, is that almost 80 percent of cardiac arrests occur at home. So most likely, the life you save will be that of a loved one.”

Several years ago, the AHA issued guidelines for hands-only CPR, hoping that this would encourage the use of CPR among bystanders.

“Hands-Only CPR is recommended for use by people who see a teen or adult suddenly collapse in an “out-of-hospital” setting such as at home, at work, or in a park,” explains Redmond. “In a national survey, Americans who had not been trained in CPR within the past five years said they would be more likely to perform hands-only CPR than conventional CPR on a teen or adult who collapses suddenly.”

However, there are times when conventional CPR with rescue breathing may provide more benefit than hands-only CPR. The AHA recommends CPR with a combination of breaths and compressions for all infants up to age 1; children up to puberty; anyone found already unconscious and not breathing normally; any victims of drowning, drug overdose, collapse due to breathing problems, or prolonged cardiac arrest.

To administer chest compressions correctly, place the heel of your hand in the middle of the chest on the breastbone between the nipples. Put your other hand on top of the first with your fingers interlaced. Compress the chest at least two inches at a rate of 100 compressions per minute.

Haysam Akkad, MD, an interventional cardiologist at The Nebraska Medical Center, stresses the use of hard, fast chest compressions, which keeps the blood circulating to vital organs. “You want to see the chest wall moving up and down,” he says. He also recommends that you always start CPR immediately and then call for help. Chest compressions should continue until help arrives. If an AED is close by, use that instead of CPR, he says.

Sudden cardiac arrest is a leading cause of cardiovascular death and is not the same as a heart attack. Sudden cardiac arrest occurs when electrical impulses in the heart become rapid or chaotic, which causes the heart to suddenly stop beating. A heart attack occurs when the blood supply to part of the heart muscle is blocked. A heart attack may cause cardiac arrest. Currently, only about 41 percent of cardiac arrest victims get CPR from a bystander.